Mets owner Stephen Cohen is buying a major league golf team full of technology

There will be a rivalry between Boston and New York in the TGL, the tech-packed golf league spearheaded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy that is set to begin play in January.

New York Mets owner Stephen A. Cohen, is the latest sports personality to buy a major league team, TMRW Sports announced Thursday. TGL said the team will represent New York and be managed by his family’s office, Cohen Private Ventures.

“We are excited to partner with TMRW Sports and represent New York as TGL’s founding team,” Cohen said in a statement. “As golf continues to grow in popularity, there is a demand for enhanced access to the sport and the world’s best players. TGL’s primetime schedule will offer an up close, fast-paced and innovative look at the sport that will appeal to traditional golf.”and new fans alike. We are excited to be a part of TGL and to build a team that would make New York proud.”

Cohen became the team’s fourth owner in TGL, joining Fenway Sports Group (Boston); Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank (Atlanta); And a group led by businessman Alexis Ohanian, tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams and NBA player Giannis Antetokounmpo (Los Angeles).

Fenway Sports Group Holdings owns the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC, the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, and NASCAR’s Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing team.

Andrew B. said: “We think New York sports fans are the greatest in the world, and I’m sure Boston thinks their fans are too.”

TGL CEO Mike McCarley told ESPN that the league would announce additional team owners in the coming weeks.

“Those original six teams, we’re focused on large North American markets with existing fan bases and existing team ownership groups,” McCarley said. “There are some natural interests, some natural rivalries that exist in other sports and between fans. So I think being able to tap into those elements that are already present in other sports is attractive.”

Steve Cohen is the CEO and Chairman of Point72, a global asset management firm. He bought about 97% of the Mets in September 2020 and is the CEO and team president.

“If you put something like this together, New York is clearly at the top of the list,” McCarley said. “We’ve had a lot of calls with a lot of different ownership groups and started talking to our existing ownership groups about who would make the most sense in what markets. And obviously Steve has continued to climb to the top. What they’ve done with the Mets in a very short period of time, just Running that in a first-class, professional way has caught a lot of people’s interest and, frankly, it’s told us a lot.”

Justin Thomas, John Rahm, Ricky Fowler, Max Homma, Colin Morikawa and Matt Fitzpatrick are among ten PGA Tour players who have committed to play in the league, which will feature teams of three players competing on a golf simulator and a separate short-course rig. Arcade games in Palm Beach, Florida.

Matches will be broadcast in prime time on Monday nights. TGL partners with the PGA Tour, and the league schedule will feature 15 head-to-head matches in the regular season with semifinals and finals in the post-season.

“We believe TGL is an innovative company, bringing together data, technology and a competitive team in prime time,” said Andrew P. Cohen. “We think it will appeal to a wide audience of golf fans, existing fans, new fans, and possibly some younger fans, given where golf is played indoors, on simulators, and outdoors.

“I think the fact that the best athletes in the sport are coming together to participate and support the league is unusual, and I think it speaks to the most exciting elements of this format. And then, I would say finally you have six teams with notable and strong ownership groups.”